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Newsletter of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University
A Houston Chronicle blogger recently lauded the ambience and the economics of a Georgia real estate development, Serenbe, which was designed by Phillip Tabb, professor of architecture at Texas A&M and master planner for the Serenbe community.
“You feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere (which is true), and then you catch a glimpse of a settlement, and then you come around the corner and there's a village center! It's a very interesting experience, really hard to explain,” wrote Andrew Burleson, who lists his profession as a real estate development and design consultant who’s interested in transportation and land use policy.
Serenbe, an environmentally friendly residential development southwest of Atlanta, is a group of hamlets accommodating different housing types and nonresidential activities, public space for light recreation, community gardens and vegetated wetlands.
Roads, trails and bridle paths connect the hamlets; one hamlet, for example, focuses on the arts, another is next to horse stables, an equestrian arena and farms that supply vegetables to local restaurants and residents.
“The great thing about Serenbe is that it actually is more profitable for the land owner than chopping his 400 acres into 10-acre ‘ranchettes’ would have been,” wrote Burleson, who blogs under the name “burlesona.” “The developer is selling far more units at much higher values per square foot — but each of the units in this compact development is purchasing a share of the preserved common natural space. So, move to Serenbe and you get unlimited access to 300+ acres of stunning natural land, featuring a mix of woods, meadows, and sparkling clean creeks.”
Burleson’s Serenbe post, which includes a video, is available online on the Chroncom website.
- Posted: Feb. 25, 2011 -
Contact: Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.
Phillip Tabb
